Docking to Support Secure Associations and Flexible Manufacturing

1. A method comprising: docking a portable terminal to an industrial process controller through a docking interface using a first communication technology supported by the process controller; communicating sensor configuration information from the industrial process controller to the portable terminal; moving the portable terminal into an industrial process environment; docking the portable terminal to a process sensor in the industrial process environment using a second communication technology supported by the process sensor, the second communication technology different from the first; and configuring the process sensor with the sensor configuration information.

2. The method of claim 1 , where docking to the industrial process controller comprises: near field communication (NFC) docking.

3. The method of claim 1 , where docking to the industrial process controller comprises: Bluetooth docking.

4. The method of claim 1 , where the sensor configuration information comprises operating instructions for the process sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 , where the sensor configuration information comprises operational settings for the process sensor.

6. The method of claim 1 , where: the process sensor is in place in the industrial process environment to support a current manufacturing process; and where: the sensor configuration information comprises operating instructions that modify the process sensor to support a new manufacturing process different than the current manufacturing process.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: communicating a map of the industrial process environment from the industrial process controller to the portable terminal.

8. The method of claim 7 , where the map comprises: location information for the process sensor within the industrial process environment.

9. The method of claim 7 , where: the process sensor is included among a sequence of multiple process sensors; and the map comprises: location information for the sequence of multiple process sensors to reconfigure within the industrial process environment with the sensor configuration information.

10. A portable configuration terminal comprising: a terminal docking interface configured to dock, using a first communication technology, with a sensor docking interface of a process sensor in an industrial process environment; a controller docking interface configured to dock using a second communication technology, with a controller device, the second communication technology different from the first; terminal configuration circuitry operable to: dock the portable configuration terminal through the controller docking interface to the controller device; and obtain sensor configuration information for the process sensor from the controller device while docked with the controller device; a memory operable to store the sensor configuration information for the process sensor; and sensor configuration circuitry operable to: dock the portable configuration terminal through the sensor docking interface to the process sensor; and reconfigure the process sensor with the sensor configuration information while docked with the sensor docking interface.

11. The portable configuration terminal of claim 10 , where: the sensor configuration information comprises operating instructions for the process sensor.

12. The portable configuration terminal of claim 10 , where the sensor configuration information comprises operational settings for the process sensor.

13. The portable configuration terminal of claim 10 , where: the sensor configuration information comprises operating instructions that modify the process sensor to support a new manufacturing process that is different than a current manufacturing process supported by the process sensor.

14. The portable configuration terminal of claim 10 , where the memory is further operable to store: a map of the industrial process environment; and further comprising: an output operable to display the map.

15. The portable configuration terminal of claim 14 , where the map comprises: location information for the process sensor within the industrial process environment.

16. The portable configuration terminal of claim 14 , where: the map specifies a sequence in which multiple process sensors reconfigure.

17. A controller device comprising: a docking interface configured to connect to a portable configuration terminal configured to dock with a process sensor using a first communication technology; a memory in communication with the docking interface, the memory comprising: sensor configuration information for the process sensor that support a current manufacturing process in an industrial process environment; a sensor configuration instruction for the process sensor; map data comprising location information for the process sensor within the industrial process environment; and portable terminal configuration logic operable to: dock the controller device to a configuration terminal through the docking interface using a second communication technology supported by the controller device, the second communication technology different from the first; and transfer to the configuration terminal the sensor configuration information, the map data, and the sensor configuration instruction for the process sensor, while docked through the docking interface.

18. The controller device of claim 17 , where: the sensor configuration information comprises an operating instruction for the process sensor that reconfigures the process sensor to support a new manufacturing process in the industrial process environment.

19. The controller device of claim 18 , where the map data specifies a sequence in which multiple process sensors reconfigure with using sensor configuration information to support the new manufacturing process in the industrial process environment.

20. The controller device of claim 19 , where the map data further specifies a recommended path for traversing the industrial processing environment to execute the sequence.